Malware designed to delete data from computers connected to the Internet. The threat was neutralized in a timely manner.
Shortly before the Russian invasion, Microsoft specialists discovered a dangerous virus that targeted financial institutions and ministries of Ukraine, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to Focus.
According to the statement, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center in Seattle, USA detected a new wave of cyber attacks on February 24, hours before Russian military forces entered Ukraine.
Experts have identified a new virus that deletes data from computers connected to the Internet. Its target was definitely the digital infrastructure of Ukraine, including banks, military installations, government agencies and industrial enterprises.
For three hours, experts fought with software called FoxBlade from the words «Fox» — fox and «Blade» — blade. In the end, they managed to block the data-erasing code and add it to the virus detection system database, which should automatically block its execution and prevent «infection» Ukrainian computers.
«We are concerned about the recent cyberattacks on Ukrainian civilian digital assets, including the financial sector, the agricultural sector, first responders, humanitarian relief efforts, and organizations and businesses in the energy sector. These attacks on civilian targets violate the terms of the Geneva Convention», writes Microsoft.
The company has warned the Ukrainian cyber defense authorities about the threat. According to the New York Times, shortly after that, Microsoft top manager Tom Burt contacted White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ann Neuberger, who offered to share information about the FoxBlade virus with the authorities of European countries, because there is a risk of the virus spreading beyond Ukraine. The Americans fear that the software could cause great damage to Western European banks or NATO.
Earlier, it became known that Ukrainian IT specialists were launching DDoS attacks on Russian websites. The disBalancer group has published instructions, thanks to which each user can take part in the cyberfight against the invaders.